Books

VOICE OF A SENTIENT HIGHLAND by Vasanth Bosco Godwin. Partridge Publishing India, 2019.

THE book Voice of a Sentient Highland by Vasanth Bosco Godwin speaks in a simple, lucid and lingering tone. It tells the story of a landscape that was not formed by accident, when tectonic plates shifted and land masses moved about rather by a complex set of processes, situated at a juncture of time as a response to an environment that was both wild and nurturing. Millions of years later when human actions are playing havoc with the land and pushing it’s resilience past the tipping point, there are quiet rumblings in the land which the book calls us to be attentive to.

A very imaginative presentation style makes the book both easy to read (light summaries in yellow boxes at the right hand corner), visually appealing with captivating images and much to think about as accounts of a majestic landscape, the threats to it both from local and global processes, unfold. The reader is kept engaged as one moves from being awe struck to a feeling of despair to rising hope to going back to helplessness, finally leading one to question many things we held as good for the environment.

Through living and learning from the land, restoration ecologist Vasanth Godwin Bosco shares with the reader a story of the majestic Nilgiri highlands. In a language that is free and with images that tell a hundred stories by themselves, Vasanth is sharing what he has heard the Nilgiris tell him. Suprabha Seshan in her introduction describes the book as ‘brave and beautiful’, ‘vast in scope and loyal to a place’. Suprabha’s work through the Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary in restoring forests and more importantly relationships with them has been a path breaking effort, one that has nurtured young people like Vasanth to take up conservation as a way of life.

While walking through the Nilgiri landscape in both small and big steps the book successfully covers aeons of ecological history, by letting the plants and the ancient mountains tell their story. The first two chapters of the book describe the biogeography of the place with much detail and is a remarkable account of the landscape. The indigenous people who share this space with plants, animals, rivers, and have a deep rooted cultural relationship with the environment are part of this story. The rain, sunshine, fog, mist, winds continue to play a big role in shaping the ecology especially that of the Shola grassland mosaic, a landscape unique to the Western Ghats.

The plants along the Shola borders (some of them originated in the Himalayan ranges) guard the structure and the heart of the forest, bearing the brunt of the winds and frost. The grasses in the grasslands trap millions of water droplets from the mist as it passes over them and releases it slowly to the ground forming streams that run into rivers. The tussock grasses of the grasslands can live upto a 1000 years and since they grow in clumps (not mats as many of the lawn grasses) many plants grow in their midst – the rarest orchids and balsams can be found here. The grasslands are estimated to be around five million years old, much before human civilizations and much before fire was introduced to manipulate landscapes. By the time one has read and taken in the images in these chapters one is filled with awe and inspiration for the charisma of the Shola Grassland landscape.

Disrupted, displaced and threatened are words that meet the reader as an introduction to the next three chapters that talk about the changes wrought on by agriculture, colonial rule, plantations, exotics, roads, construction, dams, reservoirs, tourists, human animal conflict and several other footprints of development. How this has altered the plant communities in the region are powerfully told through the images in this section. The book brings out several nuances and leaves one more curious about this special place.

The Nilgiris is a highly popular tourist destination and the visitors are fascinated by the rows of tea plants and stop often to take a picture in this sea of green. To a restoration ecologist these are zero diversity green deserts! Invasion by exotic and weedy plants both introduced and naturalised is a growing biodiversity problem for the Nilgiris. Despite the invaders both plant and human, refuges of native ecology are still living and in many cases pushing back and thriving. Vasanth describes the unique ‘edges’ on the four corners of the Nilgiris starting with the northern, eastern, southern and finally rising to the western. These cliffs and steep rises, sheer rocks, and open grassland are remnants of an ancient geology that have sheltered plants, animals, mosses, ferns, birds that are found nowhere else on earth. In spite of being pushed to the edge by invading plants, there are several pockets of resurgence and native species re-establishing or reclaiming their spaces – though these remain small, they are seeds of hope.

In the final seventy pages of the book the author takes us through events that are happening at a global scale, raising serious questions about what resistance a small landscape like the Nilgiris can offer to this. There are large-scale natural deaths of long lived Sholas that are being seen in the landscape – this type of ‘dieback’ is also seen in other forest areas of the Central Highlands in Sri Lanka – a gradual decline that starts from the top of the forest canopy and gradually spreads downwards. Why is this happening – we still do not know. With rapidly rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, grassland composition is changing. Rainfall patterns have become erratic and droughts have also increased. All over the world impacts of climate are being seen on forests, waters, mountains and glaciers. At the same time regeneration and decline seem to be running parallel; what we can do is to increase the capacity for regeneration.

The notion that technological green solutions are scientific and will help the problem is called out in the book as misleading and only likely to exacerbate the current declining situation. There is a much guided manifesto offered in these last sections of the book and it’s a call that needs to be taken for the future of the planet.

The young author has walked, worked and listened to the land and translated his journey through text and photographs that speak beyond our foreseeable futures. While this book is a labour of love and loyalty to one landscape, it speaks to the world and its remnant ecologies, and to mankind to reconsider our connections to Nature.

Anita Varghese

Director-Biodiversity,Keystone Foundation, Kotagiri, The Nilgiris

 

CARVALHO by K.P. Purnachandra Tejaswi. Translated by D.A. Shankar. Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 2014.

WHETHER auspicious or propitious, the bee-stung protagonist from village Mudigree in Chickamaglur district takes the reader on an exploration of many worlds of human existence, both natural and exogenous, in the pristine forest ecosystems of the Western Ghats. Known for his astute observations, curious reflections, imaginative narrative, and unpretentious writing, K.P. Purnachandra Tejaswi weaves a simple but imaginative story that interconnects nature with human follies, inquisitiveness and wisdom. Carvalho, the self-effacing scientist, connects dots in the enticing story through Mandana, the bee keeper; Raami, his lady love; Kariappa, the born tree-climber; and Kiwi, the golden spaniel; towards reconfirming nature as a living laboratory where evolutionary forces are still at work. Laced with wit and humour, the multi-layered narrative unleashes the power of insightful observations as the guiding spirit for being in harmony with nature.

Three decades since it was first published, the novella has not lost out on its popularity for its style and simplicity in creating narrative engagement that helps the curious, observant and indulging child come to life in each of its readers. It is only as a child that one begins to make learning a reality. To this effect, Tejaswi adopts the role of both as a participant and narrator in pursuing his childlike curiosity in creating a literary form that remains non-judgemental but perceptive and persuasive nonetheless. Carvalho helps the reader face the perils of modernity with the right mix of native beliefs and wisdom.

Language and literature have curiously stayed aloof in generating environmental consciousness, leading to inter-generational disconnect in transferring the subtleties of our inter-dependence on nature and myriad other life forms. In the words of author Amitav Ghosh, an absence of serious literature on the subject has contributed to society’s collective failure in getting a sense of the imminent ecological crises. The Western Ghats region has imprints of ecological callousness like none other but without much anxiety reflected by its inhabitants. Further, the conventional cause-effect narrative on the emerging environmental catastrophe rarely engages many.

Carvalho ought to be read in light of such reality. As a storyteller, the narrator doesn’t lay undue emphasis on the environment but leaves it to the reader’s imagination to create possibilities in his or her own depth of understanding. Neither obtrusive nor preachy, the story in search of the elusive flying lizard is a narrative axiom that has environment as its central character. Engaging in both concept and setting, the reader is taken through real-life experiences in the wild as a lived reality. What’s more, it is an effortless ease with which the power of prose creates an enduring relationship between the reader and the human/non-human characters.

By fusing the evolutionary processes with contemporary realities, the writer provokes his readers to contemplate ‘why has nature transformed humans into quadrupeds while the likes of flying lizard remains unchanged.’ There are not many like Tejaswi who have immersed themselves into deep intellectual pursuit in getting closer to our current state of being. The author shares his fascination for nature’s beauty reflected in the subtle composition of colours and the structure in beetles, butterflies and grasshoppers which convinces him to let them be an observer’s delight.

Carvalho is a remarkable story that acts as a non-imposing guide to observing nature in its pristine state without losing on the feelings of excitement and wonderment. Packed with humour and rustic wisdom, the story evokes the awe of the unknown as an emotion that can ignite the imagination of children and adults alike. Tejaswi is clear that it is only through such writings that literature can move closer to meeting its primary responsibility towards society. In doing so, he calls upon his contemporary writers to move away from self-serving modernist writing of the early seventies. Not many could emulate the Sahitya Akademi laureate though.

Tejaswi’s legacy lives on, and so has been his craft of storytelling. The distinction in his writing stems from his ability to accord equal importance to all the major and minor characters in taking the story forward. In Carvalho, he lays emphasis on interconnectedness, between humans, animals and non-humans, as the leitmotif for understanding and appreciating nature. It makes for an interesting and absorbing read, with measure of its excellence partly resting on the translation being close to the original. In D.A. Shankar, Carvalho has had the benefit of an accomplished litterateur who hasn’t missed out on detailing the characters in same light as conceived by the superior craftsman. It is an enduring work of fiction with all the necessary ingredients – simplicity of language, strong imagination, and formal inventiveness.

Sudhirendar Sharma

Independent writer, researcher and academic

 

SAHYADRI: Reminiscences and Reflections edited by Sudhirendar Sharma. Photographs by N.A. Naseer. Prakruti, Sirsi, Karnataka, 2009.

THE benevolent mountain ranges of Sahyadri, the Western Ghats that runs parallel to the West coast of peninsular India, is a unique landscape that must be why it is even recognized as an UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is much to celebrate here thanks to its highly vibrant natural heritage. However, it has its own share of sorrows too, as conflicts keep arising due to competing forces in action for exploiting its rich natural resources. Understanding such pains hidden in these spectacular hills and valleys, therefore, is increasingly becoming necessary, since it impacts the life of billions in peninsula. The book, Sahyadri: Reminiscences and Reflections serves this purpose enormously.

The theme based books on Western Ghats by different experts, treating domains like geology, geography, biodiversity, large wildlife, landscape dynamics, among others, are not rare. And, innumerable literature too is available for user groups like eco-tourists, trekkers and bird watchers. But, this scholarly book stands out as it presents multiple perspectives lucidly, which could enlighten wide spectrum of readers, from ecologists to economists to policy makers. At the same time, it could be enjoyed by the general reader like a coffee table book with compelling photographs. The only other book, perhaps, which could be compared with this in this genre would be Sahyadris: India’s Western Ghats: A Vanishing Heritage, edited by ecologist Kamala Bawa and photographer Sandesh Kadur.

Sudhirendar Sharma, a writer and sustainable development professional who has meticulously documented the dynamics of natural resources governance over the decades, has edited this book of eighty pages. The captivating images of the landscape and its life forms by brilliant photographer N.A. Naseer, have added enormous value to this book. As the editor puts it in his preface, it is an attempt to capture these rich natural phenomena and the challenges in defending them. It focuses mainly on multiple events that took place from the eighties onwards that continue to influence the present and future of these mountains. It can, thus, be seen as a sequel to his own earlier book, Paradise Lost, Almost (2006).

While most of the articles here are a reproduction of published works in mainstream print media by different scholars, a few are exclusively written ones. The first one, ‘Mountains without snow peaks’, gives a vibrant overview of diverse life forms that make this landscape distinct. From of next fourteen write-ups, four broad categories can be discerned. The first set is about the Appiko movement (a ‘tree embracing’ movement), a unique protest by farmers and peasants that originated in the hills of Karnataka in the eighties. It was to protect their surrounding forests from the government agencies, that had started monoculture plantations by clear felling trees. It later evolved into a movement by itself, obviously inspired by the Chipko movement of Himalayas. While ecologist Madhav Gadgil’s article gives intricate natural science ethos that must underline the forest management, environmentalist Calude Alvares argues for respecting the voice of local communities in policies and practises of natural resources management. The third one is by the editor himself, which comprehends the importance of genesis and evolution of such people’s action. These insightful arguments have enhanced the worthiness of this book, which are relevant even today in discourses on sustainability and equity.

An article by the editor that stands out as second category is on the history and impact of the ‘Save Western Ghats movement’, one of the most important people’s movements of independent India that took place in the eighties. The historical march from Kerala to Gujarat and the subsequent sensitizing efforts, not only caught the imagination of the wider public on the importance of Sahyadris, but also became a watershed for many environmental movements in subsequent years. Such spirit of collective action seems to be the only true hope left for this ecologically sensitive area.

The third bunch of articles narrates the bewildering mosaics of diverse forms of land and life that make this unique habitat. And the last pool of essays represent the multiple challenges this land and its people face due to depletion of natural resources caused by wrong priorities in developmental policies.

Much water has flown now in the rivers of Sahyadri, since this book was published in2009. Once seemingly simple challenges have now grown into complex conflicts. Though many solutions have been proposed over the last decade to address them, including that of Madhava Gadgil’s Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), and the report of the Kasturirangan Committee, there seems to be no forward movement. Panduranga Hegde, an activist of the Appiko movement, and incidentally the publisher of this book, believes that a fresh scholarly effort is needed to capture the magnitude of all the issues that are shooting up now in different trajectories. Indeed, any such effort must look into the ecofriendly traditional lifestyles of ‘ecosystem’ people of Sahyadri as well, which may help in exploring the ways forward that could balance economic aspirations and ecological obligations.

Keshava H. Korse

Conservation Biologist and writer based in Sirsi, Karnataka

 

EVERY CREATURE HAS A STORY: What Science Reveals About Animal Behaviour by Janaki Lenin. HarperCollins Publishers India, 2020.

Richard Dawkins, in Unweaving the Rainbow, speaks of the wonders that science adds to the beauty of nature. By his argument, poets would have so much more inspiration if only they knew of the secrets behind the swivelling eye of the chameleon, the iridescence of birds-of-paradise, and the dance of the peacock. ‘There is an anaesthetic of familiarity, [that] hides the wonder of existence’, he says, and urges his audience to recapture that wonder by looking at nature through fresh questioning eyes. I cannot agree more, and look with as much wonder upon the sheer aesthetic beauty of a kingfisher, as I do upon the aerodynamics of its plunge to pluck its dinner straight out of water. Naturally, I descended upon Janaki Lenin’s Every Creature Has a Story with much excitement and interest. Here, I thought, was a book that displayed for a large audience, the sometimes, masked beauty of nature. Finally, I thought, I can share my wonder with an increasing crowd of appreciative eyes and ears.

Lenin’s Every Creature Has a Story is a collection of popular science essays that she has written over a period of three years for the online publication The Wire. Her essays span a wide variety of topics. She explains, for instance, the phenomenally high-resolution eyesight of some birds such that they can detect changes at as high as 140 Hertz (cycles per second), enabling them to race unimpeded through forests. She weaves a story of culture and tool use in primates, even describing mourning in chimpanzees. We learn of the relationship between honeyguides, a small bird that feeds on beeswax, and the Yao honey-gatherers of Mozambique whom the birds – true to their name – guide to beehives. Each chapter is a stand-alone essay, focused on one or a group of ecological research studies, and featuring the key scientists involved in these studies.

Lenin deftly brings together the specifics of the study in question, and the broader details of knowledge on the subject or species. She also highlights, in multiple chapters, common threads linking our lives as humans to the animals studied. She does this explicitly in some cases, and in others, the thread runs via the language and connotations used, ranging from parental care, to animal politics, to appreciation for rhythm and music. These bring to light the larger significance of studies, linking the lives of animals in the heart of African forests or Amazonian jungles, to that of the reader.

By Lenin’s own admission, pressed against a weekly deadline, some of the essays were rushed, and this shows in some of her chapters. While some chapters in this book were quite fascinating, there were those that did not quite capture the imagination. Of course, chapters covered a variety of topics, and naturally, readers will have their preferences of topics that appeal to their interest, and those that do not. What struck me as missing, however, was any kind of organization of the articles. What emerges, instead, is a smorgasbord of chapters with no clear links across them; any that are there, have to be deciphered solely by the reader. Articles can be read in any order, which is one approach to such a volume. But where Lenin misses her opportunity is that there can be forms of organization of her articles that would make this collection greater than the sum of its individual parts – a grouping of stories that talk to each other, and highlight that learnings from say, a fruit fly can give us insights on chimpanzee behaviour. After all, the broader implications of ecological studies – especially for understanding our own behaviour and survival – is a theme that features in many individual chapters of Lenin’s book.

As a scientist, and a cautious one, to boot, I will have to say that I was wary of the many ‘a-ha’ moments that peppered Lenin’s chapters. Science, they say, either advances steadily, with small steps steadily leading one to a zenith, or in leaps and bounds; the latter is more exciting perhaps, but certainly less frequent. More often, the process of science, especially ecological science, is like peeling an onion; nature unravels as various layers, often complex and interconnected, but each providing value and flavour to an overall understanding of our environment and its workings. After all, as Dawkins says (in a slightly different context, but apt nonetheless), ‘the fact that we gradually apprehend our world rather than suddenly discovering it should not subtract from its wonder’ (Unweaving the Rainbow).

One reason for this pace of ecological science may be the limitations on experimental or manipulative research when studying nature in the wild. My own perspective comes from being a scientist who typically conducts studies on wildlife that are observational in nature. This is often due to ethical considerations, or logistic impediments to experimenting at scale, but in addition, the very goal of observing animals in the wild precludes placing them in manufactured settings. This can be contrasted to Lenin’s relatively heavy leaning towards experimental studies. An experimental approach is more robust from a scientific perspective, but for many species and contexts, is extremely difficult, and in many instances, unconscionable.

If I want to know how far elephants move, for instance, I simply cannot, in any practical or conscionable manner, translocate a random selection of 50 elephants from a chosen National Park, depositing them at different distances from the park and observing their return (or failure thereof). Yet, scientists continue to observe and gain insights into animal ecology and behaviour in these contexts. Lenin does provide some examples of these: the unlikely association of the highly endangered Ethiopian wolves with geladas, a close cousin of baboons; the benefits to sub-adults offering support to avian parents; or the incredible ability of puff adders to hide in plain sight. Indeed, insights from observational studies are fascinating in their own right, as well as in their painting of a picture of nature unfettered, one that is not quite within our control.

Lenin’s book is put forth as Nature’s Jukebox. True to its epithet, a myriad of wonderous creatures that inhabit our world find their voice in chapters of this book. Did I read the book, unable to put it down from end to end? I admit I did not. But do I think this book will inspire someone somewhere to look out of their window at a bird singing merrily from its perch and wonder what it is communicating; how it may find its mate; or if it feeds on the bright flowers of a nearby bush? Will it make people watch a peacock dance not just for its aesthetic beauty and grace, but also for a time-tested wooing ritual that is playing out in front of them? Will it make a tourist on a safari pause for a few extra seconds watching the Asiatic wild dog, or even the more common grey langurs, observing not just their presence, but also their behaviour and interactions with each other? Essentially, will this book inspire curiosity amongst its readers about the natural world? I am confident that it will, and for this reason I wholeheartedly and widely recommend Janaki Lenin’s Every Creature Has a Story, for we all interact with nature and we all deserve a glimpse of its unravelled beauty.

Divya Vasudev

Conservation Biologist, Bengaluru